this morning on "early today," tackling tax cuts. president obama sets the stage for a showdown with republicans over plans to stimulate the economy. devastation in detroit. flames sweep through dozens of homes in michigan. and no horsing around. florida officials take no chances with a toy pony bomb florida officials take no chances with a toy pony bomb scare. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to viewers across the

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nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with getting personal. president obama will dig deep during his speech in cleveland today where according to administration officials he'll draw on his own personal background to convince voters that he knows what it's like to struggle through tough times. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on how the president plans to rescue the economy. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. today the president will deliver that speech in a state where one of his harshest critics is from, republican leader john boehner, and from a region that's been hit hard by unemployment. the president's expected to urge congress to let the bush tax cuts expire for the wealthy, individuals earning over $200,000 and couples over the $250,000. plus, he wants to spend $50 billion on transportation projects and create $200 billion in business tax breaks, allowing small businesses to write off capital investments next year, giving them more cash to hire new workers.

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>> we're talking investments in tomorrow that are creating hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs right now. >> all of it paid for by ending tax breaks for big companies. republicans say it's the wrong approach. >> i don't think the american people want any more stimulus spending coming out of washington. we need to get our arms around the out-of-control spending. >> it's a pro-business agenda, designed to aid democrats in november facing an electorate that's sick of washington politics. >> the state of the nation is what should be the driving force and not whether you do it by republicans or somewhere in between. >> president obama today hoping the promise of more jobs will convince voters to stick with his party. now, economists are split on whether infrastructure improvements and tax breaks will work to create jobs. president obama needs the support of congress, particularly republicans. right now most of them are up for re-election. lynn?

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>> tracie potts in washington. tracie, thank you. well, bp is in the spotlight this morning as it prepares to release an in-depth report on the gulf oil disaster. now according to this morning's "wall street journal," in the 200-page report, bp accepts some but not all of the blame for the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history. critics are already questioning the summary's credibility compiled mostly by bp employees with the inevitable task of exposing the company to a landslide of legal liability or pointing the feng finger somewhere else. meanwhile some good news from a new government data report that's showing microbes are consuming the oil in the gulf without depleting the oxygen in the water. firefighters are struggling to contain a rash of fires sweeping through multiple neighborhoods in detroit this morning. officials say 50-mile-per-hour winds and dry conditions are fueling flames that have so far consumed at least two dozen homes. the strong winds also toppled several power lines throughout

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the city, leaving at least 113,000 homes and businesses without electricity. detroit's fire chief said yesterday it was one of the worst days for fires he's seen in his more than 35 years with the department. so far no injuries have been reported. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in oklahoma a man is behind bars after leading police on a three-county high-speed chase in a carjacked vehicle. police say the suspect and an accomplice who was later captured were part of a tri-county crime spree which involved a shooting and at least four other carjackings. the suspect eventually surrendered after a wheel blew out. a florida elementary school was on lockdown for about an hour after a suspicious stuffed pony with protruding wires was seen nearby. a bomb squad that was called in decided not to take any chances and blew the stuffed animal to bits. no explosives were found inside.

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and in new york, former jetblue flight attendant steven slater faced a judge on criminal mischief charges. slater, facing various charges after he allegedly cursed at a passenger and slid down an emergency exit chute, will see a psychologist whose evaluation will factor into plea deal negotiations, which could qualify him for community service instead of jail time. and for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> good morning, lynn. imagine being the bomb squad guy and you go home for dinner and your little kid says, what did you do for work today? >> meanwhile a 5-year-old is like, hey, buddy. >> i like that story because of the happy ending. not for the pony. good morning to everyone out there. active weather. what's left of tropical storm

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drenching texas, now pushing into oklahoma. we have a pair of storms, one located on the border of washington and oregon, the other up to canada. we have a nice flow through the pacific northwest. you can see where the jet stream is arcing into the northern rockies, stuck as a low pressure center. that's where the cool air is and rain. you can see it's raining lightly from seattle to puget sound, moderate rainfall. back up through the yakima now. that's the case pretty much through the day today. on and off light rain through the morning. it's chilly, too. it's raining and in the 50s. that's cool. not very warm today with the clouds and showers. highs only in the mid-60s. warm weather, get to southern nevada and arizona where it's even a lot cooler. that's a look at your wednesday forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. showers will be the rule, work

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their way down to mount shasta, crescent city only 59 degrees. we're talking light jacket and sweater weather. put the shorts away. hard to find some warm spots. the storm will move out. we'll give you the thursday forecast coming up. also coming up, a rude return on wall street, big breast plans, and what's in a word or more accurately a nonword. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, he's known for keeping his cool on the field. but according to reports, the same can't be said of his girlfriend. another milestone for trevor hoffman, one blue jay is flying high, and possibly the biggest loss of reggie bush's career. you're watching "early today."

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good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. u.s. forces are investigating what caused a kurdish iraqi soldier to open fire on a group

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of u.s. soldiers yesterday in northern iraq, killing two and wounding nine others. the two americans were the first u.s. service members to be killed in iraq since the obama administration declared an official end to combat operations last week. government officials are turning up the pressure on a florida pastor who is planning to burn copies of the koran on saturday's anniversary of the september 11th terror attacks. attorney general eric holder yesterday called the plan idiotic and dangerous while secretary of state hillary clinton condemned it as disrespectful and disgraceful. 22 arrests have been made in los angeles after an unruly crowd of protesters clashed with police for the second straight night. demonstrators gathered outside a police station to protest the fatal shooting of a guatemala immigrant. officers claim the man came at them with a knife. the lapd has promise add

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thorough investigation. after 21 years in office, chicago's mayor richard daly says he will not run for re-election next year. the stunning announcement yesterday opens the door for a possible run by white house chief of staff rahm emanuel, who said in april that it's, quote, no secret he would like to run for mayor of chicago someday. 33 men trapped a half a mile under ground in chile got a moral boost when rescuers dropped a miniature projector into the mine allowing them to watch their country's soccer team play a match against ukraine. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,340 after losing 107 points yesterday. the s&p fell 12 points. the nasdaq dropped 24. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei sank 201 points, while in hong kong the hang seng shot down 312. traders returning to wall street yesterday were immediately greeted with fears

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of weakness in european banks, which led to an unexpected down day. "wall street journal" report that major lenders across the pond understated potentially risky holdings in government debt gave investors a reason to sell after strong gains last week, wall street's best in the past two months. most analysts took the hit in stride, pointing out yesterday's light volume, which tends to exaggerate market moves. still others saw reason for concern, particularly with so-called safe haven stock alternatives like treasuries and gold jumping. gold rose to an all-time high, settling just over $1,259 an ounce. among advancers, oracle was up almost 6% after hiring mark hurd, the former boss at hewlett-packard as co-president. meanwhile hp sued hurd, asking a court to block him from joining oracle, saying his hiring puts hp's trade secrets in, quote, peril. u.s. steel shares rose more than 4% on renewed takeover speculation.

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bristol-myers squibb says it will acquire biotechnology company zymogenetics for $885 million. boeing announced it's slimming down its military aircraft business and cutting workers as the u.s. tightens defense spending. the job cuts will start with 10% of the group's executives with more layoffs to come. burger king is introducing nine new breakfast items and planning a major breakfast marketing blitz, all with an eye toward eating up some of mcdonald's morning business. and, finally, merriam-webster's word of the summer is not even a real word. "refudiate." sarah palin's attempt to splice, refute and repudiate in july led to more searches in the publisher's online dictionary than most real words. well, tiger makes the cut, venus marches on, and it looks like reggie bush will lose the statue.

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plus, closer trevor hoffman hits a nice round number for his all-time saves record. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. tropical downpours will continue in texas today, and much of the country cools off. your national forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, officials may be ready to take the unprecedented step of stripping reggie bush of the most coveted trophy in college sports. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after the opening weekend of college football, the biggest story so far has been off the field. yahoo!'s sources report that former usc running back reggie bush will be stripped of his 2005 heisman trophy by the end of the month. according to sources, the heisman trust will will side with the ncaa's findings that bush accepted improper benefits while at usc, making him ineligible during the 2005 season. the organization has since released a statement saying that yahoo!'s reports are inaccurate. if bush is indeed stripped of the heisman, he'll be the first player in the 75-year history of the award to have it taken away. golf, tiger woods received some good news. he was selected to the u.s. ryder cup team as the captain's pick. zack johnson, stuart cink, and 21-year-old ricky fowler also made the squad. ryder cup starts october 1st and can be seen on nbc. baseball.

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the marlins' hanley ramirez had a little fun with some rookies before the game against the phils. pick it up in the eighth. tied at seventh, placido polanco with an rbi single down the line. phillies took the lead and also first place in the nl east with an 8-7 win. the brewers' trevor hoffman added another milestone to his illustrious career. became the first player to save 600 games. got aaron miles to ground out, and there it is, number 600. brewers beat the cards, 4-2. what in the world has gotten into the blue jays' vernon wells. he's gone deep in three straight games, and last night he hit two homers against the rangers. toronto handed texas its fifth straight loss, 8-5. u.s. open tennis, venus williams advanced to the semis with a straight set victory. the two-time open champ is the lone american left in singles play. that's because sam querrey was knocked out by stan wawrinka in a marathon five-set match that took about four and a half hours to compete. it's the second year that no american male has advanced to the quarters of the u.s. open. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, who does the rumor

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mill say has grabbed the female lead in the new "spider-man" film? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a symbolic step forward in honoring those who lost their lives at ground zero. you're watching "early today."

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welcome back this wednesday morning, a chilly kind of raw

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day. showery weather down the coast to medford. san francisco and l.a., mostly cloudy skies, maybe drizzle in l.a. early in the day. from vegas to phoenix, the only warmth we have. i mentioned the storm will move out. by the time we get to thursday, we will see much improved weather, especially in the northwest. if you're watching on channel 3 in sacramento, california, now that labor day is over, start preparing for the cooler month. learn how to knit and crochet cold weather well at the library. that's your pacific event of the day. what would you knit. >> i would actually love to learn how to knit. i would probably knit a baby blanket for my new niece or nephew or bill's new baby. not so new anymore. >> he's getting big. >> exactly.

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seven months. now here is an early look at headlines in entertainment. yoko ono is pleased with the decision to keep her husbanded killer behind bars. a new york parole board turned down mark david chapman, citing, quote, the disregard you displayed for the norms of our society and the sanctity of human life. chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life for shooting john lennon outside his manhattan home in 1980. u.n. good will ambassador angelina jolie met flood victims in northwestern pakistan yesterday, appealing to the world to come to the aid of the country. hilary duff was spotted with a script for the new "spider-man" film, leading to speculation she could have gotten the female lead. and, finally, a lawyer for actress minka kelley, an actress, denies reports that she had a major meltdown on a new york to l.a. flight after being told she couldn't put her dog on her first class seat during takeoff. well, tmz reported it took all seven flight attendants, a personal plea from the pilot,

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and a phone call to boyfriend derek jeter to calm kelly down. she looks like not the type to have a meltdown. >> what's the world coming to when you can't put your dog on the first class seat. >> this comes to us from wnbc 4 new york where out of tragedy hopefully comes healing. construction workers at the world trade center site installed a 50-ton steel column salvaged from the september 11th attacks in new york city. the support beam will serve as part of the entryway to the future 9/11 memorial and museum being built to forever commemorate the world trade center ground zero site and those who tragically lost their lives there. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. .

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there is new meaning to going medieval on someone, at least at this festival in ukraine where participants suit up in armor and club each other over the head. the recreation of midieval times may look violent, but the weapons aren't sharp. no one was hurt. just a little fun had by all, including calmer events like medieval arts and crafts. while the times may be changing, one musician remains a legend. bob dylan fans flocked to denmark for a new display of paintings made by the iconic singer/songwriter. the 40 never-before-seen acrylic scenes depict scenes from brazil that were inspired by his

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travels in the country, but according to art critics his work could use some fine-tuning. one form of yoga may make a downward dog pose quite difficult. two policemen in india spend ten hours a day practicing water yoga. unique method of meditation includes floating on water while spectators chant on shore. hours of floating often ends with men falling asleep, and it's supposed to promote peace in a region plagued by violence and unrest. and what many people don't know is bill's a yogi, so he can give us an idea how proper those positions are. >> it was okay. the one guy's leg was bent kind of at the wrong angle from my, you know, water yoga experience. >> maybe tomorrow you can show us that. >> the downward dog usually is good. you can usually do it as long as you can hold your breath. it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington, food safety advocates will release a report identifying 85 separate food recalls since the house signed off on the bill, giving the food and drug administration more

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authority to monitor food safety. that bill is currently stalled in the senate. in texas, officials will announce that the state's customs and border control operations will receive extended support from unmanned aircraft systems, a crucial tool in cracking down on drug trafficking. and first lady michelle obama teams up with nfl commissioner roger goodell and former nfl coach tony dungey to highlight the league's role in promoting a healthy lifestyle. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. koran controversy, does a florida pastor's plan to burn the koran put u.s. troops in danger? and a "today" exclusive. joran van der sloot, the suspect in the case of missing teen natalie holloway, speaks out from jail. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more.

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i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one.